Discussion Questions and Exercises

  1. Explain the focus of culture and leadership. How has globalization influenced what leadership researchers have studied and learned? Describe and define Adler and Bartholomew’s five cross-cultural competencies for leaders. What competencies do you think leaders need? Give examples that demonstrate and support your views.
  2. Define culture and explain the terms related to culture. How are diversity and multiculturalism different?
  3. Define and describe ethnocentrism and prejudice. Give personal examples to support your descriptions.
  4. How can a leader overcome ethnocentrism while still remaining grounded in his/her cultural values?
  5. Describe House’s research on the relationship between culture and leadership. What is GLOBE and what are its nine cultural dimensions?
  6. On the power distance dimension, how might a leader from a culture with high-power distance, use the six French and Raven power bases (from Chapter 1): legitimate, expert, reward, coercive, referent, and information?
  7. Describe the nine cultural dimensions and provide different examples from those in the chapter to illustrate your understanding.
  8. If you have traveled to other countries, have you personally observed some of these cultural characteristics and differences?
  9. Review the clusters of world cultures using GLOBE research on cultural dimensions.
  10. Define/describe the six global leadership behaviors and the desired leadership behavior for each of the culture clusters.
  11. What are some of the similarities you see across cultures?
  12. What are the universally desirable and undesirable leadership attributes? Give examples of both types of attributes. How useful is a list of 22 desirable leadership traits?
  13. Do the strengths of this leadership approach outweigh the criticisms? Why or why not?